Trader Joe's Customers Say The Cheese Is Way Overpriced — We Did The Math

There are many reasons why Trader Joe's is such an appealing grocery store to do your weekly shopping. The atmosphere is casual, there is a constant flow of interesting new products on offer, and there are often really good deals. But while there may be an extensive list of Trader Joe's frozen foods under $5 to choose from, there's one staple ingredient that customers report is consistently overpriced: cheese.

Now, it is important to note that for the sake of our analysis we are going to stick to the more standard cheeses, rather than delving into specialty offerings. Trader Joe's consistently comes up as the grocery store chain with the best cheese selection on the shelves, but most of them on offer fall on the fancier side. If you're looking for a wedge of white Stilton with apricots or a block of Havarti with dill, you'll definitely find them among the best Trader Joe's cheeses. When it comes to plain, sliced cheddar for a grilled cheese, however, there are better places to buy it.

A 12-ounce package of sharp cheddar cheese slices, for example, will run you about $4.79 at Trader Joe's. Stop at Aldi instead, and you'll have to buy it in an 8-ounce pack, but that goes for just $2.05. Considering Trader Joe's and Aldi are somewhat related, this is a pretty stark difference. Those slices of Aldi cheddar come out to about $0.26 per ounce, whereas the TJ's option is almost twice as expensive, with each ounce of cheddar costing $0.40. Walmart's offer is also quite comparable to Aldi's, with an 8-ounce pack going for $1.67, or about $0.21 per ounce.

Maybe you aren't making an apple, turkey, and cheddar sandwich, though; perhaps you're making a pizza — Trader Joe's does sell fresh pizza dough, after all. How do the prices stack up when we shift to another staple like shredded mozzarella?

The gap in price between TJ's shredded mozz and other retailers is not quite as significant as it was with the sliced cheddar, but there is still a difference. For a 16-ounce bag of shredded mozzarella, expect to pay about $4.49 at Trader Joe's. That same quantity will run you around $3.65 at Aldi, and roughly $3.48 at Walmart. Those per-ounce prices come out to $0.28, $0.23, and $0.22, respectively. Even if you aren't great at doing arithmetic in your head, it's clear that these numbers are a whole lot closer. The Trader Joe's shredded mozzarella is still about 20% more expensive per ounce than the Aldi option, but that's a lot better than that over 50% price difference in cheddar.

Another block to inexpensive cheese shopping at Trader Joe's is that it doesn't sell certain staple cheeses in, well, blocks. TJ's offers lots of specialty cheeses in wedges, logs, and blocks, but basic mozzarella and cheddar are usually only available in semi-prepared packages, which always come at a premium price. While there are still many reasons to shop at this grocery chain, including plenty of Trader Joe's bargains that savvy shoppers never skip, it turns out that there are certain items to forgo. Grab your special snacks and your frozen meals, sure — even specialty cheeses are alright. But, when it comes to filling quesadillas and stacking sandwiches, those standard cheeses are best purchased elsewhere.